


Privileged Communication

by Apostrophe (tangiblewhimsy)



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Barry is a sweet cinnamon roll, Communication kink, Established Relationship, Leonard Snart doesn't understand heteronormativity, M/M, Marriage, Schmoopy schmoop schmoop, but not the one you're hoping for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-17
Updated: 2017-01-17
Packaged: 2018-09-18 02:41:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9362618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tangiblewhimsy/pseuds/Apostrophe
Summary: Barry and Len are hanging out at Len's place when Len decides to reveal that he's kind-of-sort-of-technically married. Barry takes it... marginally well?





	

**Author's Note:**

> First: Hi. I'm not dead. I am still working on the HartFlash fic that only has one chapter up, I SWEAR. Real life has been a mess for several months, don't even get me started. Chapter 2 of that is about halfway done, I just need time to sit down and finish it.
> 
> Second: This little amusing scene came to mind when my own partner and I were discussing the usefulness of same-sex marriage and spousal privilege in ongoing criminal pairs. I hope you enjoy~

"I'm sorry, what?" Barry stared as his brain screeched to a halt. He was twisted around, to face the kitchen behind him where Len had momentarily disappeared to refresh their drinks. Behind him cheery Christmas music remixes jingled over department store commercials, all of which Barry was deaf to as his attention zeroed in on the man now returning to the couch.

"I'm technically married," Len repeated, just as dispassionate and matter-of-fact as he had the first time. Like he was telling Barry some kind of mundane fact. Barry continued to stare, jaw hanging open as Len resumed his place beside him on the couch. (Although the man had enough self-preservation instincts not to sit quite as close as he had been before.)

So many different questions slammed into one another in Barry's brain in a rush to make their way out of his mouth that Barry found himself actually sputtering as he tried to land on how to respond.

"I— Wha—" Barry blanked each time, ignoring Len's offer of fresh cider and instead gripping his hair with both hands. " _Since when???_ "

"June 30th, 2015," Len answered honestly, sitting back against the overstuffed cushions of the couch and turning to face Barry properly.

" _2015?_ " Barry was aware of the way his voice was increasing in volume but was finding it difficult to stay calm.

Given their age differences Barry had known going in that it was likely that Len had had more relationships than he had. He hadn't really anticipated a spouse, though! And even if he had, he'd anticipated it being something that had happened years ago, maybe an attempt to appear straight in a world where his sexuality was even more likely to get Len killed than his smart mouth. Apparently, however, that was not the case. To hear that Len had gotten married mere _months_ before they'd begun dating felt like a punch to the solar plexus.

Len remained silent before him, his face infuriatingly impassive.

Giving himself a shake, Barry tried to run the sentence through his head again.

"And what does 'technically' mean?" Barry asked, doing his best to cling to some hope that he wasn't a side piece. He really didn't think Len would be so callous as to begin a relationship with him if he had a wife already. Husband? Spouse. A secret spouse there was no evidence of in Len's apartment. Maybe it was a favor to someone for immigration? That was pretty illegal, but Barry could overlook it. Probably. Maybe. His stomach still churned every time an insidious voice in his head chose to whisper _I've been sleeping with a married man!_

"Legally," Len elaborated. Or rather, didn't. Barry must have turned an especially dark shade of mauve as he struggled to articulate another question, because Len finally saw fit to explain for real.

"It was after you and I met, yes, but it was before you and I became a 'you and I'," Len gestured a hand between the two of them. "It was something I did for work, as a precaution."

"Work," Barry repeated flatly. He was starting to feel dizzy.

"Spousal privilege can be a very handy protection in my line of work," Len said, attempting levity with a crooked grin.

Barry failed to see the humor.

As more information was provided Barry's brain started up again and began to race, attempting to put all of the pieces together so that his world could make some semblance of sense again.

"But... Spousal privilege is only needed if you have spoken to your spouse about illegal works. There's no point unless you married someone you — no," Barry cut himself off, eyes widening in horror. "YOU'RE MARRIED TO MICK RORY?"

"He is my partner, Barry," Len said remorselessly.

The sound of frustration and distress Barry emitted was incoherent as he finally found himself beyond words. To his benefit, Len was not trying to calm Barry down or acting as though Barry's reaction was out of line. Barry wasn't sure what he would have done if Len had tried to tell him that this wasn't a big deal. He probably would have punched Len in his stupid (apparently married) face.

After taking several moments to breathe and try to get his thoughts in order, Barry scrubbed his hands over his face before looking up at Len again.

"I don't know what to do with this information," he admitted at length. "I'm... This is... So what does that make us?"

Len's brow furrowed, a familiar crease forming along his forehead.

"It makes us the same thing we were before I told you," he said seriously, dropping any sign of disaffect. "Barry, my marriage is a piece of paper. It's a tool for my profession, much the same way your college degree is a piece of paper which enables you to perform your job with the police."

Len opened his mouth to speak again and then shut it. Barry watched as the muscles in Len's throat worked and decided to do his best to resist breaking the tense silence as Len was clearly trying to figure out something to say. (It was easier than it usually was, considering Barry was completely at a loss for anything to say.) Barry's own brow furrowed as he watched Len's eyes carefully up until the point Len finally had to look away. Placing his now-cold mug of cider on the coffee table, Len reached out for the television remote and turned the entertainment system off. Breathing in deeply through his nose slowly, Barry continued to wait as Len let the breath out again before returning to meet his gaze.

"Marriage had never been an option for me before last year, tactical or otherwise," Len began, his tone even through what Barry could imagine was only sheer force of will. "It's not incorrect to say that I don't really value it. My father was married twice, and from what I saw growing up I wouldn't exactly call it a 'sacred bond'. I never wanted to get married, it just wasn't something I thought about — at least not until the Supreme Court ruling last year. At which point I set out to do exactly what all of the opposing lawyers had cautioned would happen and defraud the US Government with a sham marriage for legal benefits." At that, Len couldn't help cracking a self-satisfied smile. Barry tried to return it but really didn't feel like smiling.

Thinking about Len's relationships with law and people, Barry could understand how his boyfriend had come to his conclusions. Part of Barry wasn't even really surprised (now that the initial shock had worn off). Len prided himself on being able to manipulate and outsmart systems, and one of his favorite games was exploiting loopholes.

Taking another look around Len's apartment, Barry began to see things he'd overlooked before. There were no photos in Len's house at all, but little things that belonged to Mick had dedicated spaces throughout the house. There was one of Mick's jackets in the hall closet, as well as some boots. Barry had even found a load of laundry in the dryer that Mick had apparently left there after one evening when he came over to use Len's machines.

"He doesn't live here, though, right?" Barry asked as he finally looked back to Len, feeling weirdly insecure. It was one thing for Len to say that he didn't value marriage and that it was only for work, but Barry also knew that Mick was one of Len's only friends. Len had even defended himself by reminding Barry that the two of them were _partners_. 

"No," Len shook his head, his eyes staying on Barry the entire time. "Sometimes he gets drunk when we watch hockey and I make him sleep on the couch so he doesn't drive home that way, but it's always the couch."

Barry thought before asking his next question. His instinct was to ask if Len loved Mick, but he knew at least some of the answer to that. Mick was like a brother to Len, so chances were good that there was affection and loyalty there, much the same as Len felt for Lisa. Strangely, Barry didn't have any issue accepting this and understanding to be true without outside confirmation. (Then again, it was also possible that he was just a coward and he didn't want to hear Len say the words.)

"Have you ever slept with him?" Barry asked instead.

"No," Len shook his head again.

"But if you're—" Barry began before he was interrupted.

"Consummation is no longer a required aspect of legal marriage, Barry," Len smiled fondly, and this time Barry couldn't help return it weakly. 

He'd known that, he worked with the police. It was just such a foreign idea to him that someone would get married and then just... Go on living a normal, separate life. That really did seem to speak to the truth of Len's statement that he didn't really respect the institution of marriage as anything more than a legal form. Barry knew he ought to be comforted by that knowledge, but another, completely separate part of him churned uncomfortably in his gut.

Barry wasn't aware that he'd been quiet for an extended period until he felt Len shift on the couch, cautiously closing the gap between them.

"Barry," Len's voice was warm and soft, drawing Barry's attention from where he'd let it fall to the carpet and returning his eyes to meet Len's. "What're you thinking about?"

Barry sighed heavily and shifted, stretching his back a little but not pulling away from Len on the couch.

"I was just... I was thinking about how I'd kind of always looked forward to getting married," Barry admitted, feeling his cheeks warm. He knew Len wouldn't judge him too much, but Barry also knew that boys weren't supposed to care about things like that. It wasn't 'cool'. "It's... I dunno. It's just a shock to find out that I'm dating someone I can never have that with."

Len's face softened visibly and Barry's heart clenched in his chest.

"I mean, not that I was thinking about _marrying_ you or anything, we haven't even been together a full year. And there are so many complications, what with what you do, and what I do, and there are still warrants out for your arrest and —" Barry stopped, realizing he was beginning to speak so quickly that his words were becoming an indistinct hum. Taking a deep breath, Barry covered his face (his cheeks hot to the touch) and did his best not to curl into a humiliated ball. The last thing he needed was to scare Len off when they'd only _just_ started getting comfortable together. Christ, he was really awful at this.

Barry was actually thankful when he heard Len trying to stifle a laugh, peeking out at his boyfriend from between his fingers.

"Shut up!" Barry giggled, slightly manic as he socked Len with a throw pillow. "You can't just drop a bomb like that on me and not expect me to freak out, alright? Normal people would freak out about that kind of thing!"

Len caught the pillow he'd been assaulted with and held it in his hands, failing to hide his grin. Barry uncurled, sitting up slowly to consider Len as the man sat before him. Len merely smiled at Barry, hands curled around the throw pillow before one reached forward. Barry froze on instinct but relaxed slightly as Len's fingers simply slid across the side of his neck, Len's thumb stroking his jaw softly.

"Since when have you ever been normal, Scarlet?" Len asked with a quirk of his eyebrow.

Barry huffed and reached forward to give Len a shove to his shoulder, but followed the man across the couch to maintain their proximity.

"I'm still mad at you for keeping it a secret for so long," Barry said, and though he was completely serious he was also feeling drained from the emotional upheaval he'd just experienced.

"That is completely justified," Len nodded as he drew Barry in closer, wrapping his arms about Barry's torso and somehow managing to twist them into the blanket they'd been sharing. Considering Len had been the one to cause his distress, Barry reasoned it was only right that Len helped him relax again. At least that was the excuse he let himself have to enjoy resting his head against the crook of Len's neck.

Barry was aware that the room was quiet again, even more still now that the television had been shut off. He was still shaken by the news, but Barry could admit that it felt good to be able to lay over Len's body on the couch, feel the man's hand down the length of his back, rest his cheek on the scratchy softness of Len's sweater. After an extended period of silence wherein all Barry had to focus on was Len's hands on him it was easy enough to notice when they stopped.

"I never meant for it to be a secret," Len admitted, his voice low soft. Barry glanced upward, but Len's hand resumed his petting motion down his neck and back, so he stayed put. "I never really meant... Well, for any of this, kid. I'm good at looking ahead and making plans, but you've always had a way of flipping everything on its head."

Barry frowned into Len's shoulder, unsure how to take that. To some extent he could understand, of course. It wasn't exactly as though Barry had planned to sleep with, and then date, and then get serious with an arch nemesis after he'd taken up the mantel of The Flash. But when he'd realized that they were actually doing this, actually going to try to be together, he'd at least begun thinking about the future (in admittedly limited stretches or vague pseudo-plans, but still). Not wanting to lose Len's meditative petting but needing to see his face, Barry shifted so that he could push himself up enough to meet Len's gaze.

"So did you just now figure out that I wasn't going anywhere and that it'd probably be a good idea to tell me that you've got a husband?" Barry asked, his tone teasing as he tried to lighten the mood.

Len smiled and ran a hand through Barry's hair, cupping his neck gently before shaking his own head.

"More like I just figured out that _I'm_ not going anywhere, kid," Len confessed, holding Barry's gaze even as the hero's eyes widened and his smirk melted in surprise. "And if I'm sticking around I owe it to you to be honest when I can be."

Barry felt his lip tremble and his facial features quiver as a series of powerful emotions and thoughts fought to be expressed all at once. He was still a little upset at how Len had decided to tell him about this very serious issue, and there was a lot he was going to have to process about his expectations for their future together, but Barry was also capable of understanding what it was Len was telling him now. If they'd stayed impermanent, just an occasional hot fuck during the bizarre cat-and-mouse game they liked to play as criminal and cape, then it really wouldn't have been any of Barry's business if Len was married or not. Not really. Barry didn't relish the idea of sleeping with someone who's married, but he knew that if there'd been no emotional attachment between the two of them that the knowledge wouldn't have personally hurt him to hear. For as much as Barry wore his heart on his sleeve, however, Len kept his buried deep down and protected it fiercely. Barry was privy to a lot of information by accident, which tended to give him the impression of knowing Len better than he probably did. Right now, Barry realized, was one of the first times Len had volunteered something so personal and taken a chance on some measure of vulnerability.

"Only you could tell a guy he's your mistress and make it sound like a romantic declaration," Barry sighed and rested his forehead on Len's shoulder with a groan. He felt the tug at his neck from Len's hand and picked his head up again to meet the kiss his boyfriend pressed firmly to his lips. Barry closed his eyes and let the kiss linger, breathing in deeply through his nose before letting it out again slowly, finally breaking the kiss and resting his forehead against Len's.


End file.
